1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an endoscope, and more particularly, to a compact structure for a scope end section of the endoscope.
2. Description of the Background Art
In general, an electronic endoscope apparatus has a scope section shown in FIG. 1, where the scope section comprises a scope end section 1, including an imaging device (not shown), a bending section 2 located adjacent to the scope end section 1, a flexible section 3 connected to the bending section 2 at one end, and an operation section, including an operation knob 5, which is connected with another end of the flexible section 3.
In this scope section of FIG. 1, the bending section 2, is made bendable by manually controlling the operation knob 5 on the operation section 4, so as to be able to adjust the imaging direction of the scope end section 1.
Conventionally, the scope end section 1 has a detailed configuration such as that shown in FIG. 2, for example, where the scope end section 1 includes: an optical system 6 for receiving optical image light beam; a jig member 7 for supporting the optical system 6; an imaging element module 8 for converting the optical image light beam into electric signals, having an imaging surface on which the light beam is focused by the optical system 6; a flexible substrate 9 attached on the imaging element module 8, on which a plurality of electric components 11 such as amplifiers for processing the electric signals obtained by the imaging element module 8 are mounted and connected with the imaging element module 8; and signal lines 10 through which the electric signals obtained by the imaging element module 8 and the electric components 11 are transmitted to a signal processing unit in a system body of an endoscope apparatus.
Alternatively, the conventional scope end section 1 may have a detailed configuration, such as that shown in FIG. 3, where the scope end section 1 has a solid-state imaging element 12 mounted on a glass substrate 16 provided in a frame 17 with electrodes of the solid-state imaging element 12 being electrically connected to electrodes of the glass substrate 16 by a face-down bonding, instead of the imaging element module 8 in the configuration of FIG. 2 described above. A plurality of flexible substrates 9a and 9b having electrodes connected with the electrodes of the glass substrate 16 at one of each of their ends, and with a plurality of signal lines 10a and 10b at their other ends, where an upper flexible substrate 9a is attached on the solid-state imaging element 12 while a plurality of electric components 11 such as amplifiers are mounted on a lower flexible substrate 9b.
In such a conventional configuration for the scope end section 1, the flexible substrate 9 is extended in a scope axis direction, so that the scope end section 1 is inevitably elongated in the scope axis direction according to a number of electric components to be provided on the flexible substrate 9. When this scope end section 1 becomes relatively long in the scope axis direction, the radius for bending the bending section 2 becomes large and this makes the imaging in a narrow portion of a patient difficult and likely to cause pain to the patient.
Moreover, in a conventional configuration for the scope end section 1, only one end of the flexible substrate 9 located close to the scope end is fixedly supported while another end located close to the bending section 2 is left unsupported, so that the flexible substrate 9 is stretched every time the bending section 2 is bent, which in turn causes fatigue, breakage or damage to the flexible substrate 9.